Withering Grass

Human pride, what the Greeks called hubris, is a strange and unreasonable thing. It leads us to form an estimate of ourselves that is far too high, at least according to the Bible. We naturally think of ourselves as worthy of love and deserving of respect because of who we are or what we have done or how we have been gifted. Yet with one broad stroke Scripture paints us as flowers of the grass that soon wither (Jas 1:10). Great and small, rich and poor alike appear for a short while, and then fade away like front lawn blades that wither under the sun’s scorching heat. Experience confirms it. Just as a flower’s beauty perishes (Jas 1:11), so one’s outward appearance exhibits the ravages of time. Various creases, losses and illnesses multiply as the years rack up and prove that our bodies are ephemeral, at least in this life. Our earthly existence is fleeting! The inescapable truth is that life is short, beauty is vain, and sin is misery.

In light of this, the Psalmist prays that God would teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom (Ps 90:12). Considering our frailty as well as the shortness and uncertainty of life, we ought to realize that there is no room for human pride. Such meditations, if sincerely pondered and suitably applied, ought to lead us to seek true wisdom, that is, to seek the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Col 2:3). The swift approach of death and the vast expanse of eternity should lead to a heartfelt trust in and earnest embrace of the One who alone can give us hope of a blessed future. Let the march of time and ravages of age motivate our thought, and let us apply ourselves to the humble pursuit of genuine godliness, for that is wise. The Lord Jesus is an inestimable treasure on whom we may rest our confidence, in whom we may find inexpressible joy (1Pt 1:8), and from whom we may receive the words of eternal life (Jn 6:68). Ponder and be wise!